Beauty in dereliction

Beckett’s words sing with contemporary relevance in this new production

In an empty car park on the Liffey quays, a blind man and a self-proclaimed cripple cross paths in a landscape defined by its nothingness. In this production by Company SJ and Barabbas, Samuel Beckett’s short play, Rough for Theatre I is given a distinct socio-political accent, and the play’s philosophical metaphors sing with contemporary relevance. It is possible, of course, to find great beauty in the raw materials of reality. Sarah Jane Scaife directs our gaze upon the city as we make our journey from the meeting point to the performance site, while Lianne O’Shea’s simple lighting effects find beauty in dereliction. Raymond Keane and Trevor Knight, meanwhile, bring a refreshing demotic touch to Beckett’s surprising verbosity with their guttural intonations.

Rough for Theatre I is twinned with a revival of the company’s earlier production of Act Without Words II and the works make a perfect counterpoint and complement to each other. The evening is prefaced by a short lecture about how to interpret the work, which betrays an unnecessary lack of confidence; the meaning here is refreshingly clear.